Differences between Fender and Squier Strats

[bobby182]

Hi,

I have a Squier Strat which I purchased in 2005 along with the starter pack,
so it came with the amplifier and everything in it.

It's my first guitar and even though its a banged up made in china squier, its
got a very nice broken into feel and its the most comfortable guitar to play
that I own.

I've upgraded my bridge pickup to a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails, and had it sent
to Beez for servicing where he added an Orange drop capacitor and redid some of the
wiring. I regularly condition my fretboard, change strings and polish the guitar, so
even though its old, its well maintained.

It sounds and plays beautifully still. I'm just wondering, for those of you that own
Fender strats, are the differences between a Fender strat and a modded Squier Strat,
such as mine, really staggering?

I know the guitar bodies are made out of different woods, agathis vs. alder, but is that
really worth the upgrade? How different would a Fender strat, with the same mods as the ones
done to my Squier, compare against my Squier?

Are the differences really apparent or is it merely a brand thing?

Thanks, appreciate your insight on this.

 

[GDPunkRock]

Ok, I'm just gonna dish out MY PERSONAL OPINION on this matter, because I for one, don't really believe in branding, even outside of guitars.

In this day and age where manufacturers are a dime a dozen, and budget-yet-high-standard guitars(Swing, Rally) are available, I'd say, don't bother comparing brands anymore.

Feel is everything when you're playing the guitar instrument. Just because "Fender" or "Gibson" appears on the headstock of the axe you're noodling on, doesn't automatically make you SOUND or PLAY better. It's all up to the player.

Of course, branding exists for a reason, that is to, use as a rough gauge, where the parts in a more expensive brand SHOULD be of a higher standard than those used in a less expensive brand, correct?
Well, that's supposed to be the case, but when manufacturers are making thousands of guitars at a time, so you have to know that QC standards will surely drop as is human nature to be complacent and fall into laziness. Unless you're buying hand-made guitars, you can never really tell (sure, there are certificates, but these are just papers with a stamp on them imo) if the wood in your guitar is the best as promised, or if the pickups are coiled as perfectly as they said until you rip it all apart.

TLDR: Brands are only a gauge, but never a tell-all. Let your hands and ears guide you instead. Don't follow the useless quest of getting the big brands and then regret it.

 

[bobby182]

Cool, thanks for your input man. Appreciate it.

I love my Squier actually, i think it sounds great and its really comfortable and light and seems
to really fit snugly against my hips when I play.

The only thing I'm wondering is...will my tone improve if I get a Fender? I really like my tone now,
but am just wondering if itll improve if i get a guitar of a higher make. Some people say tone is in the fingers, but ive played lesser grade instruments before and there is something to be said for higher range instruments. that being said, yes, qc is also a perennial problem, so gotta try out everything first i guess.